As Mundfish CEO Robert Bagratuni told IGN, the USSR still exists in this reality, 'but a technical revolution has already taken place: robots, the Internet, holograms have already been invented. The devs say the story is a bit like an episode of Black Mirror-if the show were set in a warped version of the Soviet Union sometime between the '30s and '60s. (Image credit: Mundfish) What's the story? The premise? While we weren't hooked by what we saw of the narrative, the humor, and playstyle options in the demo, we'll see whether the remaining 90% of the game redeems its first impressions when it arrives in February. Somewhere around the 'quippy protagonist and repeated robot sex jokes' level. If you were hoping the raw weirdness of Atomic Heart's trailers would translate into a game of sober, psychological introspection on the history of Soviet socialism-as you should-you might want to start setting your expectations a little lower. Our Atomic Heart preview tempered our hopesĪfter getting some hands-on Atomic Heart demo time in January, the impressions we gathered in our Atomic Heart preview weren't quite as high as we'd have liked.

In revealed gameplay previews, between the maelstrom of things meeting violent ends, there are lots of combat options on display-all sorts of powers from the player's left hand, like telekinesis and ice jets, with equally varied weaponry in the right, including pistols, electrified rifles, and a pitchfork that's also apparently a big pair of scissors.

Its combat is a mixture of shooting and melee with improvised weapons, and the scarcity of ammo means you'll want to sneak through some areas, too. An alternate reality Soviet-era first-person combat game with killer robots, clown-themed torture chambers, and grandmas trapped in flowing molecular gloop.

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